


aaron and emily

by yourlocalheartbreaker



Series: the baby hotchner au [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: And Thus This Was Created, Emily and Aaron Look The Same, Gen, It's Very Short But I Want Everyone To See It, Look The AU Isn't Completely Dead, baby hotchner au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29153118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlocalheartbreaker/pseuds/yourlocalheartbreaker
Summary: an anon on tumblr requested:PLEASEEEEEEEEEE tell me theres a scene in bby Hotchner where they’re in public and Emily has to carry him like he’s her kid (bc honestly that’s the most realistic thing, they look super similar)and now we're here
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & Emily Prentiss
Series: the baby hotchner au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072898
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	aaron and emily

**Author's Note:**

> i wasn't initially going to post this here because it's not a whole fic or anything, but like, who cares? it's my account, and i want people without tumblr to be able to see that the baby hotchner au isn't completely dead, so now i'm cross-posting my works here :)
> 
> tw for very slight implications of child abuse

It’s one of those days where he was restless. Rossi didn’t blame him. They were forced to spend the entire weekend indoors because of the horrific weather- he was not about to risk another cold- so he had a lot of pent up energy.

It eventually resulted in everyone giving each other identical looks because they love Aaron, they really do, but it’s very distracting and difficult to watch him running around everywhere and just being in awe of everything.

Emily stood up and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, he saw it was her and grinned. He’d never admit to everyone because he loves all of them, but Miss Emmy is one of his favourites. They look very similar, so he can pretend she’s his real mom.

Although, he’s learnt now, that family is more than blood and parents are the ones that care for you and love you unconditionally, so really, his new family are all his parents.

“Come on child, l’m taking you to the park,” she said.

Aaron’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Yes. Because you have way too much energy and you need to burn it off. Also, you look very nice today and I would like to be able to tell everyone that you’re a mini-me.”

“I dressed myself today. Mr Dave isn’t very fond of me doing that, because apparently I choose strange things, but I told him that it was because I wanted to look like all of my favourite people,” he said with a smile.

“Well I think you look very fashionable. Are the mismatched socks inspired by Dr Spencer?”

“Yeah! And the slippers are inspired by you because you always wear the shoes that you want wherever you go,” he explained.

She smiled. “Well come on mini-me. To the park we go!”

Aaron ran ahead of her. She smiled. Maybe she would never have kids of her own, but this, this was good. And nice. And it felt like she was finally getting a chance at loving a child without fearing the worst.

Three hours passed. It was three hours of Aaron burning off forty-eight hours of pent-up energy. He went on the swings- he liked it when Emily pushed him because she was always less cautious than the rest of them- down the slide. He even ran around with some of his other friends.

Emily was just glad it was the ones whose parents believed he was her son from a previous relationship. It should have occurred to her before that they needed to agree on one story, but they hadn’t, and now some parents believed it was her son whilst some believed he was Derek and Spencer’s adopted son. 

The whole thing was a mess.

“Hey child! We need to head back now. It’s going to start getting dark soon,” she called out.

Aaron came running over. He seemed much more relaxed now.

“Did you say goodbye to your friends?”

He nodded. “Can we come again tomorrow? With Miss JJ and Dr Spencer and Miss Penny and Mr Derek and Mr Dave? Because I like going with you, but I also want us all to go because it’ll be so much fun!”

Emily blanched. That was not a situation anyone was prepared for. “I- we’ll see kid. Okay?”

Aaron pouted, but nodded. “Okay.”

Something seemed off, but she couldn’t quite place what it was. She shrugged, and carried on. Children were really strange. It was when they started getting closer to the building that she picked up on what was going on.

She turned around and Aaron was dragging his feet along the road, clearly tired from his time at the park. He was fighting to keep his eyes open and every step he took seemed to lead him one step closer to sleep.

Emily ran back over and crouched down. “Child, are you tired?”

He shook his head, but the yawn he let out completely undermined him. Emily raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. 

“I’m not tired. I have so much energy that I could… listen to Dr Spencer and then tell you everything he said!”

“I won’t make you go for a nap,” she said.

“Okay, maybe I am tired.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said, and she lifted him into his arms. For his age, he was both small and incredibly light, so lifting him wasn’t even a problem for Spencer, who they all joked was the weakest.

Well, the others joked. She didn’t believe there was any evidence so suggest the opposite.

He let out a yelp when his feet left the ground, but on instinct, he wrapped his legs around her waist and his arms around the neck. After a moment, he buried his head in her neck so he was essentially clinging to her like a koala.

Emily liked carrying him, and Aaron enjoyed the feeling of being picked up. Not having to walk was nice, because it meant he could close his eyes and just not worry about anything. Also, Emily’s hair smelt like peach and oranges, which was always a pleasant thing.

He held onto her, and by the time they reached the elevator, his grip had loosened significantly because he trusted her to not drop him, and that was something that Emily took very seriously.

Hotch had fallen asleep at some point, and she wasn’t about to wake him up. As they had been walking back, several people had given her soft smiles when they saw the child in her arms. One elderly lady had said that her son was the most adorable little thing she’d ever seen. Another parent had shushed her children because the little boy was sleeping.

“Hi Em,” Anderson said when she got in.

She shook her head slightly and tilted her head towards Aaron. Not that Anderson knew it was Aaron. At least, as far as she knew he didn’t. He had given them all strange looks recently. Ones that suggested he knew something. 

“Oh is he sleeping? So sorry. You know, he looks exactly like you, it’s almost eerie.”

“Grant, he has half my DNA. Of course he looks like me.”

“I mean, he does look more like Agent Hotchner, but sure. Whatever you say,” he said with a smirk.

Emiky’s jaw dropped.

“Like I told Agent Jareau, I’m more than just a pretty face. And this is where I get off. Bye Agent Prentiss. Bye Aaron!”

When Emily looked down, Aaron was staring at her with wide eyes. All the movement had made him wake up, and he did not look impressed.

“You woke me up,” he said.

“I’m sorry child. Would you like me to put you down?”

Aaron shook his head and tightened his grip. “Like it when you pick me up. Everyone thinks I’m your kid then.”

“If you like it, then I won’t let go,” Emily said. She meant it literally, but also metaphorically. She would never let Aaron go until he was ready. There would be no more darkness in his life.

“Good,” he said.

She entered the bullpen and a few of the other agents gave her fond smiles as they realised the child in her arms had his eyes closed. He was a cute kid. The resemblance to Aaron Hotchner was uncanny, but they were almost sure that was a coincidence.

When Dave saw Emily and Aaron return, he smiled slightly. When he realised that Aaron’s head was buried in Emily’s hair, he grinned. His job was going to be a lot easier.

“Hey little one. Did you have a good time at the park?”

Aaron nodded. “Miss Emmy carried me back as well. And she didn’t drop me at all!”

Dave’s smile wavered slightly. “That’s lovely to hear Aaron. Is Miss Emmy allowed to put you down now? I’m sure she wants to keep holding you, but I’ve missed my little one.”

Aaron nodded, and Emily passed him over. Dave kissed his forehead and Aaron giggled slightly.

When they got home, Aaron wouldn’t stop talking about how much fun he had at the park with his friends, and also about how nice everyone was. Dave smiled and responded at all the right moments. Never once did he try and cut the boy off, because he finally seemed comfortable enough to speak.

Aaron wouldn’t complain when Dave sent him to bed. And after they had made sure there were no monsters in the bed, closet, or outside in the hallway, he climbed into the bed. When Dave sat beside him to put the night light on, he didn’t flinch away.

“Mr Dave?” he said just as he was about to leave.

Dave turned around.

“I love you. And Miss Emmy. A lot.”

“We love you too kid.”

Aaron smiled, and fell asleep, dreaming of parks and being held. And feeling safe.


End file.
